Lake Forest Caucus Slates Candidates For April 2019 Election

LAKE FOREST, IL — The Lake Forest Caucus held its annual fall meeting Tuesday at the Gorton Community Center to finalize its selection of candidates for the April 2019 consolidated elections. The general membership voted Nov. 13 to ratify the Caucus Committee's picks for mayor, Pioneer Press reported, including four seats on the City Council, three on the board for Lake Forest School District 67 and two on the board of Lake Forest Community High School District 115 (a third candidate will be considered at a Dec. 5 interim meeting.)

A former alderman was slated as the choice to replace Mayor Rob Lansing, who announced Sept. 4 that he will not seek a second term in office. The caucus recommended three incumbent aldermen be re-elected to the City Council and a new member to replace 3rd Ward Ald. Jack Reisenberg. The 83-year-old caucus consists of 43 residents evenly distributed from around the city. It recommends candidates for elected and appointed positions. The caucus' pick is often definitive, as independent candidates rarely choose to challenge its slate. Elections are scheduled for April 2, 2019.

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Here are the slated candidates' biographies from the Lake Forest Caucus:

Mayor:

George Pandaleon earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kenyon College. He is a former board member of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers. He is also an active member of the Pension Real Estate Association, the International Council of Shopping Centers, the Urban Land Institute, and holds a FINRA Series 65 securities license.

Mr. Pandaleon has served the City of Lake Forest, Illinois in numerous appointed and elected roles for more than 25 years. From May, 2011 through April, 2017 he was an Alderman and Chairman of the Lake Forest City Council Finance Committee. He recently received the Lawrence J. Temple Community Service Award; the highest civic honor bestowed on Lake Forest citizens.

Alderman:

James E. "Jed" Morris, 1st Ward, is a long-time resident of the First Ward, having moved to Lake Forest in 1975 with his wife Kate. He is a former partner with Ernst & Young in its consulting division. He also has been part of several successful startup ventures in the technology and health care fields. Most recently, he retired from Walgreen’s in 2013 after it purchased the specialty pharmacy venture that he and his associates started in 2003. He attended Northwestern University where he earned a BA degree.

Following his graduation, he served as an officer in the U.S. Navy. He returned to Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management where he earned an MBA in Finance and Accounting. He joined the accounting firm of Arthur Young & Co. as a CPA in its auditing and accounting practice. He went on to lead its public sector consulting practice until the merger with Ernst & Whinney. From there, he went on to help form Whitman Hart, a successful national technology consulting firm, and then to form Medmark, a specialty pharmacy company. He served on Gorton Community Center’s Executive Committee and as head of its Finance Committee. Prior to that, he served on the City of Lake Forest Plan Commission.

He and Kate raised two children in Lake Forest, and both children returned to Lake Forest, where each are now raising their own children. Jed is Chairmen of the City Council Finance Committee, and he serves on the Property and Public Lands Committee, the Audit Committee and the City-Lake Forest College Founders Council.

Melanie K. Rummel, 2nd Ward, a lifelong resident of Lake Forest, was educated in Lake Forest’s public schools, graduated from Northwestern University with a BA and Loyola University College of Law with her JD with distinction. She has practiced law for 40 years and is currently of counsel with the Lake Forest law firm of Lesser, Lutrey, Pasquesi & Howe. She has lectured and authored chapters in professional publications, was recently an adjunct professor of law and is immediate past President of the Lake County Bar Foundation.

She and her husband Mike, a former Mayor of Lake Forest, have a son and daughter. Both of their children attended the School of St. Mary, the Lake Forest public schools and graduated from Lake Forest High School. She has been a tireless volunteer for the community serving as Chairman of the Board of Lake Forest Open Lands Association, President of the Lake Forest School Board-District 67, President of the Women’s Board of Catholic Charities for Lake Forest, Vice President of the LF-LB League of Women Voters, and as an active member of the Gorton Community Center Board, the Ragdale Women’s Board, and the Lake Forest YWCA. She also served on the City’s Cable Commission, its Strategic Planning Committee and its Sustainability Committee. She was President of the Weinberg College of Arts and Science Alumni Board at Northwestern. As President of the LF-LB Volunteer Bureau, she, alongside many dedicated mothers and fathers, was responsible for the founding of the Lake Forest Children’s Drop-In Center at Gorton, a factor which contributed to her being recognized by North Shore magazine as one of the top volunteers on the North Shore.

Melanie serves on the City’s Public Works Committee and Legal Services Committee.

Ara Goshgarian, 3rd Ward, has lived in Lake Forest most of his life. He attended Everett School, Deerpath and Lake Forest High School. He then attended Carroll College, The University of Illinois (D.D.S.) and completed his orthodontic specialty program (Loyola University- orthodontic cert.). He returned to Lake Forest with his wife and four children to practice orthodontics with his father and has been in the community ever since. His children are currently attending and have attended both D67 & D115 schools.

He is a Past-President of both The Illinois Society of Orthodontists and The Midwestern Society of Orthodontists. He is currently serving on The Council on Governmental Affairs and has served on several other commissions and boards; most notably the AAO’s House of Delegates, which has financial, policy and bylaw oversight over his professional organization. He has done so over the last 17 years.

Ara is active within the Lake Forest community. He has served on the Lake Forest Caucus, firmly believing the mechanism of the Caucus best serves the community. He is a current member of The Friends of Lake Forest Parks and Recreation Board, serving as Vice-president. Additionally, he is working with Alderman Newman and Beidler on the Deerpath Golf Course renovation project. Ara looks forward to hopefully expanding his community service as 3rd Ward Alderman.

Ray Buschmann, 4th Ward, was born and raised in Chicago, graduated from Loyola University in Chicago with a BS in Political Science, then earned a JD degree from the University of Illinois Law School, where he was on the law review and the honor society. He began his legal career with a large Chicago law firm with a general corporate practice. He then went in house with a Fortune 500 company with progressive promotions until he retired as Corporate VP for Legal Affairs, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary.

Ray and his wife Nancy moved to Lake Forest in 1995. They have 5 children and 11 grandchildren. Their youngest graduated from LF High School in 1999 and 2 grandchildren have graduated from Lake Forest Country Day School. Ray has been active in volunteering in Lake Forest. He was appointed to the Building Review Board in 2003, including as Chairman. After completing a full 6 year term, he was appointed to the Lake Forest Legal Committee, including serving as Chairman. He also volunteered for the Tax-Aide program sponsored by AARP in coordination with the IRS, serving as a certified IRS trainer, site manager and eventually as District Coordinator for all of Lake County. He also was appointed by the U.S. Department of Treasury to a 3 year term on its Taxpayer Advocacy Panel, a federal advisory committee to the IRS. He currently continues to serve as an arbitrator for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), deciding disputes within the securities industry. Ray was appointed Alderman for the 4th Ward in January 2017 and elected to a 2 year term in April 2017.

Lake Forest School District 67:

Richard Chun is an attorney with the Wood Burditt Group providing regulatory counseling to the Food, Drug, and Medical Device industry. Richard also serves as Corporate Counsel to NGC Media Group, a distributor of Asian video content to cable and satellite companies. Richard’s community involvement includes serving five years with the Lake Forest Caucus including as Ward 1 Chairperson, the Treasurer for two years, and Chairperson of the Caucus School Board Search Committee.

Richard also served four years as a District 67 Community Member of the Finance and Operations Committee. Richard holds a bachelor’s Degree from Southern Methodist University, and law and business graduate degrees from The George Washington University.

Justin Engelland is Sr. Director at DocuSign, a publicly-traded software-as-a-service provider and pioneer of eSignature technology, where he leads product marketing and strategy for their Financial Services, Insurance, and Real Estate businesses. Justin’s spent his entire career in technology, and has developed and brought to market products at both Silicon Valley based startups and global leaders like Microsoft.

Justin and his wife Shannon have lived in Lake Forest since 2013, when they relocated from Seattle in order to raise their children closer to family and in a strong, service-minded community. They have two children, a 2nd grader at Everett Elementary and a 5th grader at Deerpath Middle School and have been active volunteers in the schools, the APT, and with the Spirit of 67.

Justin has also served on the Lake Forest Caucus for four years, joining only six months after moving to the area. He’s served on two School Board search committees for both D67 and D115, meeting with all current board members and the Superintendent. Additionally, he has served as a community member on the Finance & Operations sub-committee of the D67 Board of Education for the past 18 months. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Lafayette College, and an MBA from Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business.

Suzanne Sands is a mother of three children, community leader and volunteer who is passionate about education and actively supports our schools in a variety of ways. She is currently a member of the District 67 Board of Education. She and her husband Matt have lived in Lake Forest for over 20 years and are raising three children here.

In addition to serving on the District 67 School Board, she currently serves as the Communications Coordinator for the Sheridan APT, is the Vice Chair of Marketing Communications on the Lake Forest High School Foundation Board and serves on the Lake Forest Soccer Association Board helping with communications. She co-chairs the Leadership Development Committee at Temple Jeremiah in Northfield and volunteers at Whittier Elementary School in Waukegan through Temple Jeremiah’s Social Justice Committee.

Her current School Board responsibilities include serving as the BOE Liaison to the Spirit of 67 Foundation, serving on the Education Committee and serving as the President of the Leadership Council for NSSED (Northern Suburban Special Education District). Suzanne holds a BA in Child Study, cum laude, from Tufts University and a MEd from Emory University in Middle Childhood Education. She previously worked as a teacher, most recently at Harper School in Wilmette. Throughout her adult life Suzanne has been motivated by a deep respect for children and education with a desire to make a valuable contribution to both.

Lake Forest Community High School District 115 Board:

John Noble grew up in Lake Forest, graduating from Lake Forest High School. John then went on to play tennis on scholarship and graduate from Ball State University with a BS degree in Marketing from the school of business. John achieved a world ranking in the sport.

He currently lives with his wonderful wife, Susan, in Lake Forest and has three beautiful daughters attending LFHS, DPM and Everett. John works with his brother in a unique healthcare company in Lake Forest, that focuses on connecting people with doctors and checkups, so that they can become better engaged and follow-through to improve their health risks and condition.

John has served on several boards; the American Platform Tennis Association Board (APTA) for 6 years, the Chicago Platform Tennis Charities board for 12 years, The CPTC League, and has been Director of Tournaments for the CPTC. John is also a two-time Tony Award winner as a producer and has helped produce many local Chicago area productions and nationally since 1995. Other boards that he has served on have been Citadel Theater (President for 2 years) & Glen Flora Country Club (Tennis and Social Chair).

John is currently a Deacon at 1st Presbyterian Church in Lake Forest and is excited about the potential opportunity to serve the community on the District 115 Board of Education.

Jenny Zinser grew up in Michigan and moved to Chicago after graduating from the University of Colorado with a BA in International Business and Spanish. Jenny was VP and GM of HQ Chicago, Inc.

Jenny and husband Jim moved to Lake Forest from Chicago 23 years ago. They have three children who attended Everett Elementary School, Deer Path Middle School, and Lake Forest High School. Their oldest attended Butler University and is an elementary school teacher in Indianapolis. Their son is a sophomore at the University of Denver. And their youngest is a sophomore at Lake Forest High School.

Jenny has volunteered in the Lake Forest public schools for 19 years serving in numerous roles on both District 67 and 115 APT, Spirit of 67, and the LFHS Foundation. She also served on a District 67 principal search committee as well as a District 115 personnel search committee. Jenny is currently serving her ninth year on the LFHS Foundation’s Grants Committee and her fifth year on the LFHS APT. In addition to her work with our schools, Jenny serves as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for CASA Lake County and a tutor for Reading Power. Her previous volunteer roles include serving on the Leader Council of Mercy Home for Boys & Girls, the Friends Of A Safe Place, and the LFLB Junior Women’s Club.

Voting on the Caucus Committee's recommendation of Dewey Winebrenner for the District 115 School Board has been set for 7 p.m. on Dec. 4 at the Gorton Community Center.

VOTE Lake Bluff, the candidate selection caucus for the village and surrounding unincorporated areas will hold a final administrative hearing Nov. 28 at the Lake Bluff Public Library ahead of town meetings scheduled for Dec. 4 for the village and library boards and Dec. 5 for park and school boards.

Related:

• Caucus Picks Past Alderman To Become Future Lake Forest Mayor
• Lake Forest Mayor Rob Lansing Will Not Seek Re-Election
• Lake Forest City Manager To Step Down In 2019